Improvement in registering ballot-boxes



2 Sheets-heet 2'. A. B.- RONEY. Registering Ballot-Box. No. 211,056.Patented Deaf@ Tenu UNITED STATES PATENT @ld-FICE ALEXANDER B. RONEY, OFPITTSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOE OF ONF- IALF HIS RIGHT TO BENJAMIN E.KENNEDY, OF SAME PLAGE.

IMPROVEMENT IN REGISTERING BALLOT-BOXES.

Specication forming part of Letters Ijatent No. 211,056, dated December17, 1878; application iiled September 14, 1878.

ib all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, ALEXANDER B. HONEY, of Pittsburg, in the county oi'Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new andIniprovementsin Universal Regis tering Ballot-Boxes; and I do herebydeclare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description ot' theinvention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which itpertains to malte and use it, reference being had to the accompanyingdrawings, which form part of this speciiication, in which- Figure l is aplan view oi' top; Eig. 2, a plan view of interior; Fig. 3, a verticalcrosssection, partly broken, to show mechanism, Fig. 4, a detail,showing alarm; Fig. 5, a detail, showing locking devices; Fig. 6, a viewof bottom, showing record, tvc.; Fig. 7, a detail for winding.

rThis invention relates to registering` ballotboxes; and consists in theconstruction, coinbination, and arrangement ot' parts, substantially ashereinafter described and claimed.

The object of this invention is to avoid the trouble and waste of timecaused by coniitin g the votes, to prevent intimidation, to guardagainst fraud, to save the cost ot' elections, and to guaranteesatisfaction to the candidates and preserve the purity ot the tranehise.

To these ends my invention is as follows: In the box A, arranged insuitable bearings, are a number of similar rollers, a, placed in groups,each group consisting of as many rollers as there are political partiesin the eld, and as many groups as there are oitices to be voted ier. Oneach roller a is wound a separate tape, with numbers, from one upward,printed on its outer face, the highest number being at the center et'the coil. rlhe outer end et' each tape passes downward and under twofriction-rollers, Z1 b, so as to present an even surface for inspectionthrough apertures a' in 'the bottoni oi' the box A, thence upward to asha-ft, c, to which its end is fixed. Thus the revolv' of shaft cunwinds the tape troni a and win i iten shalt c. On each ofthe shafts c,which are grouped like rollers u, is fixed a toothed wheel or pinion, d,having its axis horizontal and parallel te rollers a. ln adjustablerelation with each of the wheels d is a vertical rack, e, set inbearings, and capable of partial revolution and up-and-down niotion,being held normally at the highest point by the spring j". On turningthe rack so as to gear with the pinion, and then depressing it, thepinion revolves, and, revolving, winds the tape a certain length tobring the next number into view at the aperture below. As the racks areall inside the box, it is necessary to give them the two motions tromwithouta vertical motion to wind the tape a distance of one number, andthus record the vote, and a partial revolution to throw the rack intoand ont of gear with the pinion, so that after depression the rack maybe ungeared to rise again. The latter motion is thus elected: Fixed oneach rack is a lateral finger, g, all the fingers being arranged in onecommon direction. All the lingers of each group ot'racks V`pass throughappropriate slots in a movable bar, 7i., eaeh linger having its ownslot, and all the bars 7i being connected at their ends to thetransverse rods fi, which, in turn, are connected to the bars 7s, whichpass outside the box A and terminate in knobs or handles B. By nowpushing the frame li i7 k one way each rack is at once thrown into gearwith its appropriate pinion, and the depression of any one will record avote 5 and by pushing the frame in the opposite direction all arereleased, and then depressing the racks cannot record a vote at all.

lilechanisin, to be described further, is provided, by which an alarm issounded, by niotion of the frame in either direction, to proclaim,iirst, the recording ot' the vote, and, second, the preparation foranother. "Were the spring f free to act at all times, it would at oncei'oree up the racl; after depression, which might give room forconfusion or fraud. I prevent this. To the traine-work, near eachpinion, I pivot a pawl, I, its point pressing into the tace et' thepinion by a spring, on, and so arranged that it permits revolution whenthe rack is depressed, but engages the pinion and prevents revolution inthe contrary direction 5 and as the rael; is still in gear, it, too, isheld down securely; and hence, when a racl; is once depressed to recordavete for any caw as this must be done by reciprocating the frame, twoalarms would ube struck to notify the public that the voter or judgesare tamy pering.

As before stated, there is a separate rack, pinion, and tape for eachcandidate and each office, and it becomes necessary to provide somemeans of depressing any one of the racks from without'the box. N owthismight be done by using a separate button for each rack; but then therewould be no security against fraud, since, while the voter is absorbedin properly recording his vote, an unscrupulous and dexterous hand mightbe engaged in recording votes for other candidates. I prevent this by Ioperating all the racks of each group from one common source, which canbe adjusted to any of the racks at will, and when once operated cannotagain be used without sounding the alarm. c

Alongside each group of racksI is placed a vertical rod, D, which I callthe voting-post. This is stepped in two bearings, .n n, between which aspring, o, surrounds it, which forces it up when free to move. Post Dcan be turned and reci procated. An arm, E, projects laterally from thepost, of such length as to reach over the farthest rack of the group towhich `it belongs. A disk, F, is fixed to the post,

just beneath the cover of the box, and on this disk are radially markedthe names of the political parties in the field, and in the cover of Ythe box is a slit just wide enough to allow one,

name to be seen at a time. By rotating the post any desired party canbe' broughtv to view under the slit, thus indicating to th'e voter thatthe arm E has swung around to a point immediately above the rackbelonging to that party.y Then, by simply forcing down the post D, itsarm E pushes down that particular rack of the group, and 'the vote isrecorded; but it is necessary to prevent that post from being used asecond time without sounding the alarm. I make a groove or shoulder, p,on the` post D, and pivot a spring-actuated elbow. lever, q, on theframe-work pressing normally against the post. The other end of lever qpasses through a slot in the plate or bar h. -When, now, the post ispushed down to record a vote, the lever g flies into the groove or overthe shoulder, and prevents its return upward. This can be effected onlyby pushing the frame h t' lo till the slot-edge forces the lever q ontof the groove p. 'Thus one motion of the frame serves to disconnect theracks and release the ',post. The motion, of course, sounds the alarm. lThus one votin g-post for each office will record votes for anycandidate runnin g for that oce,

, prevent fraud in the record, and allow-the independent voter to `votehis ticket as readily as the straight-out partisan. No 'tickets orballots or stickers are required. The ignolrant voter is not at themercy of unscrupulous men, who insist upon scratching his ticket orresort to sleight-of-hand to cause him to unsuspectingly deposit theirticket instead of his own.

bystanders hear them, and at once knowthat fraud is going on, and canbear witness against it.

To permit rewinding of the tapes, when required, after having done duty,I fix to each tape-roller a large wheel, W, whose periphery projectsthrough openings in the inner bottom ofthe box, so as to be accessibleto authorized persons. I release the pinions for winding by' means ofthe sliding rods fr, one for each group, having the spurs s at properintervals, so that when the rod r is pushed inward the pawls are allforced away from their pinions, and winding can be effected. v

To obtain access to the rods r, I construct the box with a side door, C,which only opens after the secondary' bottom is opened. The bottom Gisfixed and immovable, and has the reading-apertures covered with glass toprevent access to the tapes. Below this isa secondary bottom, H, ofopaque material, hinged to the box, closing against the butt of the doorC, and preventing inspectionof -the 'tapes except when open; but to openit, Iso construct it that the act of unlocking the bottom H instantlyrenders the whole registering ymechanism incapable of recording a singlevote,- and the box cannot again be made ready for voting except by anauthorized person carrying the means of so doing. p

A bolt-rod, I, passes through rone end' of the box, and is guided insidelby the standard t.

A hook-bolt, u, depends from the rod, and engages the keeper o, lwhichis attached to the bottom H, and passes up through a slot in the bottomG. Rod l, bolt u,keeper't, and frame h i 7c are .so disposed relativelythat the inward thrust of rod I necessary to disengage bolt u fromkeeper t, and unlock bottom H, cannot be given until the frame M k ispushed out of its way; but this motion" of the Vframe throws all theracks out of gear with their pinions, so that, even 4if the racks be nowsurreptitiously depressed, no recording can be. done on the tapes. A l YTo prevent the relocking of the bottom by unauthorized persons, I cutratchet-teeth'in vthe rod I, into which plays a pawl or detent,

a', accessible only to one having a suitable key. When rod I is lpushed'in the detent catches it and prevents its return until a key isinserted and the detent lifted.A By keeping such key in court, orwherever the returns are officially counted, thatkind of fraud at thepolls known vas stuffing the ballot-box is eiectually p revented. c

The alarm can be eii'ected yby cutting. a rack on one of the bars k, andgearing into it apinion, l, with an anchor-escapement, 2. Thus themotion of the bar k in either direction rocks the anchor 2, and ahammer, 3, attached to it strikes the gong 4.

I do not confine myself to this construction, however, as various meansor" striking an alarm by the reciprocation of the frame can be devisedby any ordinary mechanic.

rlhe box is permanently closed upon the recording mechanism, no openingexisting for tampering save the reading apertures, and these are coveredwith glass plates. As additional precaution, combination-locks may beprovided for the door C and the bottom H.

I wish it understood that I do not confine myseltl to the preciseconstruction of parts herein described, as a skilled mechanic mightreadily iind equivalents.

That I claim is- 1. rIhe combination of rack c, its eccentric 'iinger g,and slotted bar h to govern the tinger, for the purpose of rendering therack operative or inoperative, as desired.

2. An adjustable voting-post, D, in combination with and controlling'the movements of an indicator inside the box having the politicalparties or the names of the candidates marked thereon, and the whole soarranged that the di'li'erent names may be brought to view by therotation of the post.

3. The combination of a group of verticallyreciprocating racks with arotating and reciprocatin g voting-post, D, having an arm, E, to operatethe racks, and capable of automatic locking when depressed.

et. rlhe combination of a series of wheels, d, racks c, springs j', andfingers g with the reciprocatin g slotted bar h and an alarm sounded bythe reciprocation of said bar h in either direction.

5. In registering ballot-box having reading-apertures on one face, andin combination therewith, a secondary opaque cover for that faceprovided with a locl; so constructed and located, substantially asdescribed, that the registers must be disconnected from their actuatingdevices before the said cover can be unlocked.

6. In a voting apparatus, the combination ot' rod I and its bolt u withthe secondary opaque cover II and keeper '1.7, substantially asdescribed.

7. In a voting apparatus, the combination ot' rod I, havingratchet-teeth formed thereon, with the pivoted pawl, substantially asdescribed, whereby, when the bolt is pushed in to unlock the cover II,the pawl prevents its return, and thereby maintains the registers in auseless condition.

S. The combination of the grooved or shouldered voting-post D, thespring-actuated clbow-lever q, and the slotted bar 7L, substantially asdescribed, whereby the same movement of frame h i k releases the rackand voting-post.

9. The combination of the numbered tapes', rollers a, and wheels "W,shafts c, wheels d, and spring-pawls l with the rod r, having lateralspnrss, substantially as described,whereby rewindin g of the tape can beeffected from the exterior.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto set my hand this30th day of August, 1878.

ALEXANDER B. BONDY. litnesses:

A. V. D. Wurzrnnsou, MansHALL Bnowii.

